Exams begin as 42,000 put pen to paper

Benjamin Preiss

The VCE English exam is over and for Keilor Downs College student Hashela Kumarawansa it was a huge relief.

More than 42,000 VCE students were expected to sit the English exam today - the start of the exam period proper.

Hashela felt the exam went well and was about as difficult as she had expected.

“I did feel as if I was a bit rushed for time,” she said.

“As I was in the process of writing it, they announced there was five minutes.”

She will now turn her attention to her Further Maths exam tomorrow.

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“I'm feeling a little bit nervous because maths is my weak subject.”

She will also complete her literature and Japanese exams later this month.

Hashela belongs to The Age's Year 12 club, which has watched the progress of a handful of Year 12 students during 2012.

A total of about 50,000 students are eligible to graduate from VCE this year. The exam period will finish later this month.

Methodist Ladies' College year 12 English coordinator Luciano Di Gregorio said the exam was challenging but fair. He said the exam invited complex answers but was fair for students for whom English was not their strongest subject.

"It is fair and it will draw out the upper quartile of students," he said.

Mr Di Gregorio said the students were nervous before the exam but he was confident most would do well.